Amazon Prime goes live in Singapore

It looks as though Amazon might, after a delay, finally be making its way to Southeast Asia. Singapore to be exact.

UPDATE 27/07/2017: Amazon Prime is now available for download on iTunes and Google Play.

Delivery charges are S$5.99 (RM18.89) for orders less than S$40 (RM126.15), to deliver items within two hours or S$9.99 (RM31.50) for faster (one-hour) delivery. Deliveries over Some S$40 (RM126.15) will be free. Only areas within mainland Singapore and Sentosa are covered at press time, however. The selection for Amazon Prime Singapore is also smaller than in the US, but that is perhaps to be expected.

Shoppers, beware

According to Techcrunch, Amazon will be bringing its Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Now and of course, Amazon's usual e-commerce services to Singapore. The exact pricing and availability is not yet known, but the announcement could be as soon as this week.

There have been hints of the Amazon launch via social media, however, via Instagram. Influencers have been showing off packages that did not mention Amazon directly, but showed the brand's distinctive blue tick.

Singapore is seen as Amazon's launchpad to expand further into Southeast Asia. It will face heavy competition from local online retailers such as Lazada as well as China heavies that include Taobao and Qoo10.

With Amazon already making its Amazon Prime Video available to both Singapore and Malaysia, it wouldn't be surprising for the latter to be the next target for Amazon's expansion though that place might also go to neighbouring Thailand. We'll let you now once Amazon officially makes its mark in the region.